~Super Water Sympathy

Uneven pavement and a cloud of smoke greets you as you approach the Prophet Bar in Deep Ellum. Step inside and you discover an art venue, mixed with a great bar, and crossed with a dimly lit stage. This venue was made for grainy, rock n’ roll, black and white photos, and the line up of indie/rock/alternative bands from the Gulf Coast States fit perfectly.

Relo and Caterpillars are both local Dallas bands, featured first and third in this post, and working hard to cultivate the music scene in DFW.Super Water Sympathy hail from Shreveport, Louisiana and feature a girl vocalist. I was so excited to shoot a girl rocking out on a stage, she has a great voice, and a lot of stage presence. The band even brought their own lights which, to a music photographer shooting chiefly extremely dark, horribly illuminated, and tiny venues, was a welcome addition.

Be sure to check out all of the bands at the links above, try listening to some of their music while you scroll through these photos.

Photographer’s notes: It is for nights, and venues, like this where primes reign supreme. My 1.4 50mm prime allows me to take advantage of more reasonable shutter speeds than a lens a few stops slower, even with it’s broad focal range, ever would.

Words mean more at night
Like a song
And did you ever notice
The way light means more than it did all day long?

~gregory alan isakov & ilan isakov

Since childhood I have loved the intrigue of espionage. Classified information, secrete meetings, everything kept very hush hush. So when Parker asked me to be the instigator in a series of misinformation that lead to his proposing to one of my dearest friends, of course I leapt at the opportunity. Parker’s plan required I come up with some sort of ruse to hang out with Janice, lead her to their favorite coffee shop, Legal Grounds, where there would just so happen to be a local band playing. At the indicated hour I would emerge from my seat, make eye contact with the guitarist to alert him to his cue, then duck into the kitchen, turn off all house lights leaving Janice with nothing but a candle to illuminate her surroundings, which signaled Parker to appear with his own candle, momentoes, and of course, the ring.

My stratagem was simple, the proposal night conveniently fell on the same night as my wonderful husband’s birthday, so I invited Janice to an evening of dinner with friends to celebrate Ben, and maybe we’ll catch a show later. Janice fell for it completely, I am, after all, so trustworthy. The night was a great success filled with many surprises and I look forward to their wedding at the end of the summer!

The lyrics to the song above is from Janice and Parker’s favorite song, which was played during the proposal. And the band that graciously aided in the plot was The Dallas Family Band. Many thanks to the band, and to Legal Grounds for their part in our scheme.

Note: I shot the actual engagement while crouched behind the counter, in the kitchen, with a stove in between me and the bar. No lights. Dedication.

]]> http://www.katherinelove.net/2013/02/13/janice-and-parker-engagement-photography/feed/ 1 http://www.katherinelove.net/2013/02/13/janice-and-parker-engagement-photography/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KatherineLovePhotography/~3/TN1dFKm1VA8/ http://www.katherinelove.net/2012/12/22/kristen-and-drew-wedding-photography/#comments Sat, 22 Dec 2012 08:28:31 +0000 Katherine Love http://www.katherinelove.net/?p=1315

The Vineyard at Florence : Texas Hill Country Wedding

I’m singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin’
I’m happy again
I’m laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun’s in my heart
And I’m ready for love

Singin’ in the Rain is the perfect sentiment for Kristen and Drew and their wonderful wedding. The day began bright and sunny and ended gray and raining, and through it all the couple maintained their happy refrain. Kristen and Drew, or Krew as they are called by their friends, are a classically cool couple. The arrival of the rain caused a complete change in the entire plan for the day, ceremony, reception, everything was moved and delayed, and amidst all these changes Kristen was calm and graceful. “Laughing at clouds, so dark up above,” like the song suggests, and singing nursery rhymes to her niece in the dressing room.

It was a hectic day but you’d never know it by the look of the bride and groom. I loved watching them delight in every moment of their wedding, shrugging off the changes, and soaking up (no pun intended) every memory. Their love and enthusiasm just radiated and I hope that’s evident from these photos. Enjoy!

Many thanks to the staff at The Vineyard at Florence  for handling the rain with such professionalism, they made the changes so swiftly, and adapted to every situation with skill. The location is gorgeous and everyone there wonderful.

The Marshall family has a long standing tradition of meeting at Getzendaner Memorial Park in Waxahachie, Texas for their annual reunion. This year I had the honor of taking portraits for our friends Michael and Terri, and Terri’s immediate family. Every year they gather around the same two spots at the park, a bridge that expands over a babbling creek and a tree that fell, and uprooted itself, over thirty years ago. It was fun recreating those memories and that fallen tree made a terrific back drop. It was a really cold and gray day, probably the coldest yet of the autumnal season, and the littlest kids weren’t big fans of the drop in temperature. Everyone was a terrific sport, however, and it was a really fun Saturday morning with a wonderful and loving family.

{Photographer’s notes}

I shot with:

Canon 50mm 1.4

Canon 35mm 1.4 L

We brought flashes, light stands, umbrellas, sand bags, the whole nine yards, but in the end I just used natural light during this shoot. With the sky so over cast the clouds become a giant soft box over the sun, so it worked really well au naturale.

I brought a few props as a surprise for the children and, magically, they matched perfectly with the blanket Terri brought along. With the props I was able to catch a few relaxed, playful, shots of the little ones with their parents, that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I loved how the little girls kept trying to use the glasses as monocles, such hipsters.

Caleb Thomas

Portrait of my EIGHTH nephew

Mr Caleb Thomas was born on a Monday in February and I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon staring at him in the nursery. He was a sturdy 10 pound gentlemen surrounded by little baby girls half that size, laying pensively in his crib and showing off his muscles with his arms tucked behind his head. When I finally got to meet him he stared up at me with his dark blue eyes and it was love at first site. Five days later he agreed to pose for a portrait session and he was quite the little professional. He has such a sweet complexion, just like his big sister, and I love his curvy little lips and distinguished little chin.

Adorkable Adolescence

The Monkees and Me

Music attunes my soul to creation, it awakens all that lies within me, it stirs my mind, inspires joy, and knits my memories together. One of the earliest of those memories is sitting in a corner hidden by the couch flipping through my mother’s record collection. After various moves across country her selection had thinned but there were a few gems on the shelf, and I spent countless moments pouring over the faces on the covers, absorbed by the dusty smell of the jackets, memorizing the names of the songs, and getting lost in the photographs. Three albums in particular stood out and became not only my favorites then but traveled with me throughout my life as a sort of consonant soundtrack. Those albums were by Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, and The Monkees, respectively. Yes, The Monkees.

I have always been fascinated by History, as a girl I read everything about the second world war I could get my hands on. We were at the library at least once a week and I always checked out stacks of books about everything from Queen Victoria to Woodstock. I loved finding books full of black and white images of the bands from the 60′s, and every time, the first thing I’d do is look in the glossary to see if The Monkees or The Beatles were mentioned. Songs like “Day Dream Believer” or “A Hard Day’s Night” are part of my subconscious, I couldn’t tell you the first time I heard them {it was probably prior to birth} but they were always there, and always what I preferred.

As a girl without a father the men who shaped my passions and interests and influenced what I wanted from this world were the men I read about, who’s accomplishments I’d admired, who’s talents caught my attention. Jimmy Stewart taught me to stand up for what I believe in, defend the little guy, love the Lord, and be humble. Paul McCartney taught me that a kid with no money and one parent could rise above it, chase their dreams, and see the world; his talent continues to boggle my mind, and his compassion for children and animals touches my empathetic sensibilities. From Frank Sinatra I learned how to be classy and strong and produce quality, and from C. S. Lewis I received a master education in literature, theology, sociology, and imagination. I have so many others on my long list of heroes but the purpose of this posting is to pay tribute to Davy Jones and The Monkees.

It was in High School that I started actually paying attention to the music The Monkees produced, studying each album individually and learning about each member and their contribution to the sound. The group was formed by a bunch of network execs hoping to make money off of the rise of the British Invasion but they didn’t quite bargain for the strong willed talented musicians they hired. At the start, the powers that be treated the Monkees like puppets, pulling their strings and making them perform at will. However, by their third {and best album} titled, Headquarters the guys had fought for the right to choose and write their own music, and play every note on every track. It was a real victory for them, and they were rightfully proud of their accomplishment. I found the album at a dusty nostalgia shop on the square in Denton, brought it home, shut myself in my room with my headphones and listened. “You Told Me” begins with the guys frantically counting down the start of the song, Mike comes in on guitar, Peter’s banjo twangs to an excited start, the bass line drops, and…. they’re off. My mind was blown in that moment, it was such a simple thing, three instruments and then enter the drums, but I was so excited to actually hear them playing those notes. To have read about their battles with the producers and then to have that freedom as an artist to express yourself on your own terms, it was beautiful. You can hear the joy in that song, feel how much fun they were having in the studio and it started a sort of revolution in me. To stand up for yourself, to do what you want to do with your gifts and dreams in the face of opposition is still a cause I champion, and a fight I’m still learning to be victorious in but it was The Monkees that started that fire for me. It may sound silly, but it was the catalyst that encouraged me to continue to pursue playing music, to do it publicly, to dare to dream that I could be a writer or photographer, to say out loud I want to be an artist.

After the Monkees Davy Jones continued for the rest of his life to pursue his passions, he had a horse farm and entered races in Pennsylvania, a dream of his since childhood. He acted on stage and was nominated for a Tony, and every few years he and the guys would get together for a reunion tour as The Monkees. They always played their own instruments. Davy Jones passed away today and I felt compelled to share that what I learned from him is that your dreams are worth pursuing and they might not always happen exactly how you want exactly when you want, but that you should work all the harder to ensure they’re eventually realized.

The Love Family

Holidays in the Hill Country

Austin, Texas

My husband is the youngest of four and his family has a long standing tradition of uniting every second Christmas. Somehow we manage to fit Ben’s grandparents, his parents, his brother and sister-in-law, two sisters and two brothers-in-law, three nieces, seven nephews, one Ben, one me, and one Moksha under the same roof and ring in the holidays with good food and cheer. This year we managed to squeeze a quick family portrait session in between the relentless drizzle and our lovely Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner the children treated us to their adorable rendition of the Nativity story complete with costumes, songs, and props and Ben accompanied them on guitar. We’re meeting again soon in March and maybe if we’re lucky they’ll do an Irish jig and the babies will dress as leprechauns. I promise to take pictures if they do.

at The Prophet Bar

It was an incredibly cold Saturday night in downtown Dallas. I arrived early with the band to help unload their gear, shivering as I rolled in Ben’s massive Ampeg SVT 8×10 bass cab. When I say rolled in, I mean I was tugging the handle with all my might, trying to maneuver the beast over bumpy Deep Ellum sidewalks and stubborn thresholds, proudly presenting it to the stage unscathed. After sound checks and the usual pre-show rituals we ventured back out into the cold in search of food. We decided upon Angry Dog and though it was just a few blocks away I was certain my toes were about to snap off from the cold. I was pleasantly surprised by the vegetarian offerings {surprised that they existed} and we enjoyed our fried meal together bantering about late night shenanigans and favorite edgy television shows.

The line up that night was great, I’ll post another entry soon with those shots, but as the Caterpillars were the headliners {and I am married to the bass player} I started with their set. This was their first show together after months of practicing and writing and recording and as one fan commented, “if this is their first show they have awesome things in their future.” I couldn’t agree more.

The stage was washed in red light, which is the bane of music photographers everywhere, turning everyone into purple and orange oompa loompas. The guys look great in black and white, however, so I went with a classic rock and roll aesthetic when editing.

Check out the portrait session I did for Caterpillars here

Check out their music at Caterpillarstx.com

Dallas Indie Rock

First things first. I have woefully neglected this blog of late, and for that I apologize. Since my last post my husband and I have moved, transitioned to a new job, and helped our beloved puppy Moksha through her cancer diagnosis. After surgeries, medications, and many trips to the oncologist’s, I am happy to report Moksha has just completed her final round of chemotherapy and all her test results were crystal clear! We are blessed by our little warrior pup and happy for every moment we have to spend with her and her bright personality.

I have quite a few posts to catch up on, and am starting with a brief piece about the band Caterpillars. They are an indie rock band hailing from Dallas and are bursting onto the music scene with new members and material primed for debut. They describe themselves as, “A band that enjoys chilling your bones while rocking them at the same time…” and that is a practically perfect explanation of their style. Melodic and mellow yet rocking and captivating, Caterpillars is a band worthy of notice.

I met with the guys outside their practice space and the weather was hardly cooperative. It was freezing and pouring rain, so we had to work fast to make a few portraits in between downpours, but I’m very happy with the results and I hope they are too. Be sure to check them out and let them know I sent you!